Dancing Away the (Prom) Night. With the Governor. At His Mansion.

[Judi Lynn]

Dancing Away the (Prom) Night. With the Governor. At His Mansion.


By BRENDA GOODMAN
Published: May 15, 2006
ATLANTA, May 14 — Just after 2 a.m. on Sunday, the neighbors on West Paces Ferry Road were hailed by the tortured confessions of a guilty mind.

"Mama ..." sang a cracking male voice, "just killed a man ... " A handful of the singer's friends gathered around inside a white party tent, smiles on their faces, watching the young man's karaoke version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Outside, their host, Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia, who had just wrapped up a news conference, winced.

"You know, you always worry when you plan something like this that it could flop," Mr. Perdue said. "It can be tough for 50-somethings to try to entertain teenagers, but it seems like everyone is having a good time."

The governor, 59, a teetotaling Sunday school teacher, was playing host to an after-prom party in an effort to keep students safe and off the streets on one of the more notoriously wild nights of young adulthood.
(snip/...)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/15/us/15prom.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Article posted May 15 2006, 4:34 PM
Georgia's GOP Governor Hosts $22K Post-Prom Party At Mansion...

ATLANTA — Midway through a love ballad directed at their prom dates, the sea of high school students suddenly parted to allow Georgia's top politician to give the karaoke song his best shot.

Wearing a trendy visor and a neon green glow stick around his neck, Gov. Sonny Perdue joined the group in belting "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'."

If the students didn't realize it before, this wasn't the typical post-prom party.

Five busloads of Brookwood High School seniors unloaded on Perdue's front lawn in Atlanta early Sunday for four hours of partying, eating and face time with the governor after their prom.
(snip/...)

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=10920



"The event's mission, Perdue said, was to encourage responsible behavior for teens and reward the suburban Atlanta high school for its creative efforts to tackle underage drinking."
Photo credit: The Associated Press)

[trixie]

1. I think it is a great idea.

[jukes]

4. no, it's bogus

more hype playing to the "abstinence only" ignorant fundy voting bloc.

[dsc]

2. Even odious jackasses can get somethings right

This is a terrific idea.

[ovidsen]

3. Tickets for this went begging?

Personally, if I'd had this opportunity, I would have considered it. But many students didn't according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Not all Brookwood prom-goers were eager to kick it with the governor.

The school first gave seniors the privilege of being among the 150 couples to sign up, but many passed. And even when the party was opened up to juniors, spots were still open. About 240 of the school's 1,200 prom-goers attended, principal Jane Stegall said.

According to students at the event, some of their classmates thought the conditions would be too confining.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/0515metprom.html
(Free registration may be needed)

Even with the chaperones and without any booze? Sure, why not?

[RubyDuby in GA]

5. The only school invited to this is a very rich, very white school

Sonny is pandering to their mommy and daddy's vote. He never does anything even remotely civic unless it's an election year and, amazingly enough, he's up for re-election this year.
Crazy!
I know!!

[trixie]

6. You could have a point

If only a wealthy, white school was targeted. The theory though is a good one. I am a very liberal librarian and I would hate that the community I serve (conservative-religious) would not like an idea like this because of my liberalism. Our area is rife with drugs and alcohol. At least 1 high school kid is killed by drunk driving every year. I have tried and we have had success in getting activities for the kids. We serve all citizens and do not target a certain group.

Just FYI - children of the wealthy and children of poverty share a lot of the same parenting problems. Neglect, lack of supervision etc.

[RubyDuby in GA]

7. Exactly!

I'm all for keeping kids off the streets where they will be safe. But I mean all kids. Not just the ones whose parents give them their old hand me down BMWs to drive to school.

Programs like this to reduce the number of fatalities are wonderful and I am glad that communities work hard to put them into place, but this was a political stunt. Pure and simple. So that makes it sickening - playing with something that is a very serious matter and turning it into a PR blitz. Disgusting.

[Charlie Brown]

8. There's something creepy about Purdue in that picture

It's like seeing your grandparents try to act "hip."

[Terran1212]

9. A friend's dad plays racquetball with the governor

A lot of people in my West Cobb area are tied to the Governor in one way or another. I hold small grudges against all those people, bleeding from my discontent with the elite surrounding him and the hubris of those people and their policies.